South Korea: Constitutional Court called to seal Yoon’s fate as quickly as possible

South Korea’s opposition leader on Sunday called on the Constitutional Court to quickly seal the fate of ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol, so that the country can recover from the “national unrest” and “absurd situation” created by the surprise imposition of martial law on December 3.

The Constitutional Court has six months to validate or not the dismissal of Mr. Yoon, voted on Saturday by Parliament. If so, a presidential election will be held within two months.

“The Constitutional Court must quickly deal with the procedure for impeaching the president,” Lee Jae-myung, president of the Democratic Party, the main opposition force, said on Sunday.

“This is the only way to limit the national unrest and alleviate the suffering of the population,” he added.

The president of the Constitutional Court, Moon Hyung-bae, promised on Saturday evening “a rapid and fair procedure”. He summoned the other judges for a first meeting on this case Monday morning.

According to most experts, there is little doubt about the outcome as the violations of the Constitution and the law accused of Mr. Yoon are blatant.

Police arrested the current and former head of the military intelligence command on Sunday, Yonhap news agency reported.

Prosecutors said Sunday they were seeking an arrest warrant for the head of the army’s special forces, Kwak Jong-geun, according to Yonhap.

Mr. Kwak is accused of sending special forces troops to parliament during the attempted martial law, leading to a confrontation between soldiers and parliament staff.

– Absent when summoned –

South Korean justice also summoned Mr. Yoon. “We asked him to report at 10:00 a.m. (01:00 GMT), but he refused to comply,” prosecutors said in a statement. “We will send a second summons,” they add.

On Saturday, police arrested Yeo In-hyung, head of the counterintelligence command.

It is obvious that Mr. Yoon “tried to paralyze the functions of the state”, Kim Hyun-jung, a researcher at the Institute of Law of Korea University, told AFP. “Even the most conservative academics recognized that this had caused a crisis in the constitutional order.”

The opposition leader also demanded a thorough investigation into the events of the night of October 3 to 4, when Mr. Yoon surprisingly announced the imposition of martial law and sent the army to Parliament to attempt to muzzle him, before backing down under pressure from deputies and demonstrators.

“To hold those responsible for this absurd situation accountable and to prevent it from happening again, it is essential to uncover the truth and demand accountability,” said Lee Jae-myung, who lost the presidential election narrowly against Mr. Yoon in 2022, and is now the favorite to soon occupy his seat.

– Apple de Biden –

Yoon Suk Yeol is the subject of a criminal investigation for “rebellion”, a crime theoretically punishable by death, and is not allowed to leave the country. His former Minister of Defense and several senior officials were arrested.

The interim presidency is held by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who spoke with US President Joe Biden on Saturday evening.

“President Biden expressed his appreciation for the resilience of democracy and the rule of law in the Republic of Korea,” the White House said in a statement.

“The two leaders discussed the considerable progress made in recent years in strengthening the alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea, and President Biden expressed confidence that the alliance will remain the pillar of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region during the tenure of Acting President Han,” she added.

Mr. Yoon’s coup took the United States, South Korea’s main ally, by surprise. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the US government learned of the news on television. According to him, these unexpected events have caused “deep concern” in Washington.

During his two and a half years at the head of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol visited the United States five times and worked to strengthen the alliance with Washington, crucial in the face of the military threat of North Korea. About 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea.

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